Grease-cup cap.



D. H. TWAITS.

I GREASE CUP CAP. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26' I914.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

DANIEL H. TWAITS, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

Application filed January 26, 1914. Serial No. 814,316.

To aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, DANIEL H. TwAIrs, acitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Grease-Cup Caps, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to grease cups of a type wherein there are twomembers, one of which screws onto the other, and a spring detent isprovided for preventing one of the members rotating with relation to theother and thereby becoming inadvertently removed therefrom.

The object of the invention is to provide an eflicient detent springdevice adapted to be readily secured to one of the members of the cupand which shall be durable in service and cheap to manufacture.

My invention is hereinafter more fully described and the essentialcharacteristics set forth in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a central vertical section through thegrease cup showing my spring device mounted therein; Fig. 2 is a centralvertical section through the grease cup showing the modifiedconstruction of my spring device; Fig. 3 is a central vertical sectiontaken on a plane at right angles to Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a horizontalsection taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a detail of thespring shown in Fig. 1 before being bent and attached to the cup; Fig. 6is a detail of the form of spring device shown in Figs. 2 to 41 beforesuch spring is bent into position.

In the drawings, 10 indicates a grease cup body having an enlargedportion 11 forming a head, which is provided with external threadsadapted to cooperate with the end.

internal threads 12 of the cap member 14. The cap 14 is open at itslower end to allow for screwing it into position and is provided with aflat top 15 closing the upper The interior of the-body 10 may beprovided with vertical. grooves, or may be angular, as shown at 16, thusproviding corners or grooves for engaging the detent spring device 17 toprevent the cap inadvertently turning on the body portion, therebybecoming displaced or lost.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the spring device consists of a flatstrip secured at its two ends to the top of the cap,

as shown at 18, and having two downwardly extending legs 20 bentoutwardly at 21 and then in toward the center and upwardly at theconnecting portion 22 forming two loops connected by the intermediateportion. On the outer portion of the loops 21 are formed pro ections 24adapted to engage the corners or vertical grooves in the body portion toprevent the cap turning, except when considerable force is used, such asfirmly grasping the cap by the hand to turn the same. lVhenso turned,the loops and projections 24: spring toward each other past the fiat ornarrow portionof the interior of the base, and expand again into thecorners or wider portions of the interior. The legs 20 and theconnecting portion 22 tend to spring outwardly providing the desiredyielding engagement with the interior of the base. The upper ends of thelegs 20 may be secured to the cap in any suitable manner. As shown inFig. 1, they are turned outwardly and riveted thereto, but it is to beunderstood that I do not wish to be limited to this method of securingthe spring to the cap, as these portions might be electrically welded tothe top of the cap or may have upwardly extending lugs extending throughthe cap and upset at their upper ends, as shown at 26 in Figs. 2 and 3.

Figs. 2, 3, 4t and 6 show a modified construction of the spring devicein which the spring consists of two depending legs 30 and 31 bentoutwardly at 32 and then inwardly, and having a sliding connection 33between the two legs. On the outwardly bent portions 32 are providedprojections 35 similar to the projections 24. In this formthe legs 30and 31 tend to spring outwardly by their own spring action, causing themto engage the base. When the cap is rotated causing the lower ends tomovetoward and away from each other, the horizontal portion 36 slidesunder the horizontal end 39 of the leg 30. The spring is strengthenedand these ends of the legs are prevented from lateral movement withrelation to each other by means of ears or wings 40 integral with theportion 38, bent upwardly and around the sides of the portion 39providing a slidable engagement therewith. This construction allows thewings to spring toward and away from each other while preventing one legbeing bent out of its normal relation with the other in case the lowerend should become caught, or for any'reason should be held againstturning, thereby tending to cause the spring to be bent or distorted bythe turning of the cap. These springs are secured to the cap by the lugs26 heretofore mentioned, which extend through suitable openings in thetop thereof and are upset at the upper side of the top. The metal at thebase of these lugs 26 may be spread outwardly, as shown at 42, toprovide a Wider shoulder engaging the under side of the cap, therebymore rigidly holding each leg of the spring against moving with relationto the cap and working loose. By making such a spring device of flatstrips of metal, I provide for the same being readily punched from sheetmetal, it being only necessary then to bend the spring to the desiredform and secure it to the cap. This provides a very cheap method ofmanufacture, and the fact that the springs are fiat provides thegreatest strength of the material where it is most needed. That is, thegreatest strength, across the width of the spring members, resists theside strain on each leg of the spring when the cap is rotated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination of a grease cup comprising a cap member and a bodymember cooperating therewith, a spring detent device comprising twoportions each secured at one end to one of the members and adapted toengage the other member at their other ends, and means connecting theengaging ends allowing them to move toward and away from each otherwhile preventing the distortion of the spring.

2. The combination of a grease cup comprising a cap member and a bodyportion, a spring detent device comprising two substantially parallelportions secured at their upper ends to the cap and having outwardprojections at their lower ends engaging the interior of the body, and aconnecting portion between the two lower ends allowing these ends tomove toward and away from each other.

3. The combination of a grease cup comprising a cap member and a bodymember cooperating therewith said body member having vertical grooves onthe interior and a spring detent device comprising two flat dependingportions secured to the cap the flats of these depending portions beingsubstantially parallel and having at their lower ends outwardlyextending portions provided with projections engaging the interior ofthe body and having a connecting portion allowing these ends to movetoward and away from each other while preventing the ends movinglaterally with relation to each other;

4. In a grease cup, the combination of a body portion having verticalgrooves on the interior and external threads, a cap member threaded tocooperate with said external threads, and a spring detent devicecomprising two substantially parallel legs secured at their upper endsto the cap and being bowed outwardly at their lower ends and providedwith projections for engaging the interior of the body and having aconnecting portion allowing the lower ends to spring toward and awayfrom each other, said spring device being so formed as to cause thelower ends of the legs to spring outwardly.

5; The combination of a grease cup comprising a cap member and a bodymember cooperating therewith, and a spring detent device having twosubstantially parallel portions secured to one of the members havingmeans for engaging the other member ofv the grease cup and havinginwardly turned portions at their lower ends, one of which slidablyembraces the other.

6. The combination of a grease cup body comprising a body member and acap member threaded thereto, and a spring detent device having twosubstantially parallel portions of flat spring metal each securelyattached at one end to one of the cup members, means at their oppositeends for engaging the other cup member, and inwardly turned portionsoverlapping each other, one of said portions having wings bent aroundthe other providing a slidable engagement therewith while preventing thedistortion of the wardly at their lower ends and then inwardly, saidoutwardly bowed portions being provided with projections engaging theinterio of the body, and means connecting the inwardly bent portionsallowing the bowed portions to move toward and away from each other,said spring device being so formed that the bowed portions tend tospring outwardly into engagement with the interior of the body.

8. The combination with a grease cup comprising a cap member and a bodymember cooperating therewith of a spring detent comprising tWo portionssecured to the cap and depending into the base and having a connectingmeans bracing one portion bythe other while permitting them to spreadoutwardly.

9. The combination of a grease cup comprising a cap member and a bodymember, a spring detent device comprising a plurality of members securedat their upper ends to the cap and depending into the base and havingconnecting means at their lower ends allowing them to be moved towardand away from each other, while bracing one by the other.

10. The combination of a grease cup comprising a cap member and a bodymember, a spring detent device comprising two depending members securedat their upper ends to the cap and having outward projections at theirlower ends engaging the interior of the body and having their lower endsturned inwardly with slidably engaging overlapping portions at theselower ends.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my 15 Copies of this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner ofPatents.

Washington, D. C. A

